Current manufacturing techniques for combustors of gas turbine engines employ laser drilling. Laser drilling allows the production of thousands of effusion holes throughout the combustor, which provides the combustor with improved cooling. Effusion holes, however, require that the sheet metal used to make the combustor be thicker than combustors which employ other cooling techniques. This change in the thickness of the outer liner of the combustor affects the stiffness of the combustor, and can negatively affect the support structures used to secure the combustor in place.
Furthermore, as the axial length of the combustor with respect to its surrounding parts increases due to thermal growth, the combustor generates loads which act against its support mounts. These loads can cause increased wear of the support structures and the support bosses (known as “fretting”). Over time, fretting can affect the combustor by jeopardizing operability due to leakage of combustion gases, and reducing the useful life of the combustor.